When Space and Seconds Collide.

The built environment is not a passive backdrop to care delivery; it is an active participant in shaping how safely and effectively care is provided. While healthcare environments are designed with good intentions in mind, we cannot underestimate the profound influence that physical space has on human performance, clinical decision-making, and ultimately, patient safety.

To truly design for safety, we must understand the complex cognitive and operational realities clinicians navigate every day — especially in moments when time, space, and life converge.

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From Cribs to Campuses: Roxanne’s Path to Healthcare Design

We are proud to spotlight members who are shaping the future of healthcare environments through innovation, leadership, and a passion for patient-centered care. This month, we’re excited to feature Roxanne Butler MSOD, RNC, Principal at Blue Cottage of CannonDesign and President-Elect of the NIHD Foundation for 2025.

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Advocacy Through Vision and Visibility: A Call to the Healthcare Design Community

This year, the Nursing Institute of Healthcare Design (NIHD) is leaning forward: into advocacy, into visibility, and into our shared responsibility as stewards of the environments where care is delivered, received, and lived. Across healthcare design, we are being called to act not only as experts, but as good neighbors within complex, global ecosystems by bringing energy, intention, and care to the places that shape human flourishing.

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Empowered Clinical Support: The Importance of a Knowledge Path to Successful Technology Use.

Too often, hospitals implement new health IT systems without involving nurses—the primary users—early enough in the process. Engaging nurses from the start turns them into active partners, ensuring the technology aligns with workflows, improves patient care, and avoids costly implementation issues. A nurse-centered roadmap that includes nurses in every phase—planning, design, testing, and post-launch—leads to smarter, more successful technology adoption.

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Let’s talk about Leveraging Data and Analytics in Healthcare Facility Planning.

In today’s complex healthcare environment, data and analytics are essential tools for effective facility planning and design. By leveraging evidence-based models and real-time patient data—such as emergency department volumes and surgical case trends—healthcare leaders can optimize space utilization, improve patient flow, and support staff efficiency. This data-driven approach ensures healthcare environments are adaptable, resilient, and centered on high-quality care delivery.

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Navigating Conference Season: How to Choose the Right One and Maximize Your Connections.

Fall marks the beginning of conference season—a time full of energy, connection, and opportunity. As calendars fill with industry events and professional gatherings, it’s the perfect chance to gain fresh insights and grow your network. Whether you're a seasoned attendee or new to the scene, a little preparation can help you make the most of this inspiring time.

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Healing, Redefined: A Cancer Survivor's Tribute to Nurses.

This blog recounts MacKenzie Weldon’s deeply personal journey after being diagnosed with stage 3B triple-negative breast cancer in October 2024. A long-time professional in the healthcare industry, MacKenzie found her understanding of healthcare profoundly reshaped. While the medical care was critical, it was the compassion, dedication, and humanity of the nurses that left the most lasting impact.

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One “Big Beautiful” Design.

The "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," passed in July 2025, marks a major shift in U.S. healthcare funding, cutting over $1 trillion from Medicaid over ten years and introducing stricter financing rules. These changes are expected to result in higher copays, the loss of coverage for nearly 12 million Americans by 2034, and significant financial strain on rural and safety-net hospitals, many of which may face closure. As healthcare systems adapt to reduced reimbursements, there will be a growing focus on return-on-investment, operational efficiency, and strategic planning—particularly in facility design and construction. While some projects with secure funding may proceed, others, especially in rural areas, could be delayed or canceled, with a broader shift toward renovations and outpatient-focused facilities expected.

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Creating Spaces That Care: Highlights from the AMFP's Houston Healthcare Summit

NIHD Member Nick Mengucci, MSN, RN-BC, LSSGB recently spoke on a panel at AMFP’s Houston Annual Healthcare Summit titled Creating a High-Quality Workplace Experience in Healthcare, highlighting how thoughtful design supports staff recruitment, retention, and performance. As the nurse voice on the panel, he represented both the profession and NIHD, emphasizing the need for environments that support caregivers as much as patients.

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What’s All the Chatter About?

At this year’s Healthcare Design Forum, keynote speaker Ethan Kross delivered a powerful message on the impact of our internal dialogue and how it shapes our behavior, confidence, and decision-making. His insights on managing self-talk—especially through small shifts like using our own name—offered practical tools for overcoming doubt and speaking up with clarity and conviction in professional settings.

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Bridging Care and Design: Meg Yoho’s Journey from Bedside Nurse to Healthcare Systems Innovator

For the past three years, Meg Yoho, MSN, RN, ASQ CSSBB, has been a Senior Project Manager at Yellow Brick, Inc., bringing a wealth of experience in healthcare leadership, process improvement, and operational excellence. Before joining Yellow Brick, she spent over a decade at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) in key leadership roles, where she focused on optimizing systems and improving healthcare operations.

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Violence Against Hospital Staff: A Crisis in Care and How Technology Can Help.

Workplace violence in healthcare is escalating at an alarming rate, turning once-rare incidents into daily threats for frontline staff. This blog explores how a layered safety approach—anchored by advanced nurse call systems and supported by smart technology and training—can help protect caregivers and rebuild a culture of safety in hospitals.

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It's Graduation Season - But Where Are the Nurses?

As we celebrate the graduation of our eldest daughter from high school and her trade school (cosmetology) program, I couldn't help but notice a significant disparity at her recent completion ceremony. There were considerably more graduates in programs like cosmetology and aesthetics compared to medical assistant and nursing programs, with a ratio of approximately 4:1.

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More Than Pizza: Celebrating #ThePowerOfNurses with the Gift of Respite.

As we kick off Nurses Week, NIHD President Kevin Meek remembers back to his days as a Clinical Director and Chief Nursing Officer when he would talk to teams and ask them as we were getting ready to celebrate them during Nurses Week of what they would like to receive. Inevitably, and sadly, there was always one answer that came up: “Anything but pizza!” 

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The Value of Certification: How the Certified Healthcare Interior Designer Impacts Nursing

In the rapidly evolving world of healthcare design, collaboration between clinicians, design professionals, and industry partners is essential to shaping patient-centered environments that prioritize health, safety, and well-being. The members of the Nursing Institute for Healthcare Design (NIHD) and Certified Healthcare Interior Designers (CHIDs) share a common mission—to inform the design process in ways that enhance patient care, protect staff, and create healing spaces for families.

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A Nurse Perspective: Integrating EmPATH units in a 47 hour Design Challenge.

Mariella Marfori, BSN, RN, a DNP Student at University of Florida participated in the 2025 AIA/AAH & ASHE PDC Student Design Challenge™. She learned that she could use her experience as a nurse to not only have a great impact on patient care, but also the hospital staff and the overall built environment.

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